What's poppin' everybody This is my first time growing, so I have a few questions. My set up consist of a cabinet I bought a few years ago. The dimensions are 17.5" x 17.5" x 53". I know I will have to cover up the front glass panel and install some sort of reflective material (matte white paint more than likely). I will be doing a scrog grow to optimize the space available. Here are the materials I have collected so far... sorry for the shit quality picture Items list: 1 - Hydroponics bucket w/ regular lid and 6" net pot lid 1 - Submerged water pump 1 - Dual port air pump 1 - 2" air stone 1 - 24 hr timer 1 - partially built aeroponics system (still working on it) 5 - PC fans ranging from 120mm to 80mm 1 - 5L bag of expanded clay balls I still need to build the carbon filter get the lighting set-up. My first question is "How many cfl would be required to properly light this space?" I have looked into HID lighting and I have decided that my set-up would be less stealth. I'm thinking that 2 packs of Shop SYLVANIA 2-Pack 23-Watt (100W) Spiral Medium Base Daylight (6500K) CFL Bulbs at Lowes.com should be good coverage. My second question is "Will 8 misting nozzles be to much for a 5-gallon buck aeroponics system?" Is this one of those less is more situations? here is my set-up so far... Nothing is built yet and ideas are more than welcome.
I would put a 250W HID in there. One plant using a 250W HID would out perform all the CFL's you can get in there. Get a roll of Mylar and cover the entire inside. You'll need a inlet hole for air in, and an exhaust side with inline fan and filter to pull the heat out and the stink. Look at the bubble bucket build by Rumpleforskin on here. IMO would work best
Couple ways you could go...hid is out imo..smallest cool tube available is 19'' and to cool that small a space would require big noisy fans..2 at least...cfl doesn't quite do it imo..led is perfect for the space..a 90w or 120w ufo..you still have to vent the space but those little fans will work good enough for that..think about splitting top from bottom..grow in top /bottom all running gear that way less space to vent..see if i can get a pic of my veg cab..looks like i can't post anything twice..look my thread up for pics dr. mengles perpetual grow for the handicapped
Thanks for stopping by. @ViNsTeR420 - I don't think a 250W HID would be very beneficial with my cabinets, they are relatively small. I don't want to risk cooking my plants, unless I'm the one doing it. Plus the 5-0 in my area IR scan very frequently, and I know that HID's put out a lot of heat. I have looked over Rumple's bubble bucket before, I just like the idea of the quicker grow time. @Dr Mantle - I wish that LED's were a viable option, maybe after this first grow I can step-up to them using some profits. I can easily split the cabinet in 2, but I am worried about having enough room for flowering. I figured that since I'm going to use a SCRoG I will need as much room as possible. The total interior volume of the cabinet is only 9.9 ft3, so I don't think that venting the space will be hard. The only thing I'm concerned with is keeping negative pressure. I don't know if I should use an inlet fan or if I should just make it a passive intake. I live in an apartment, so space is super tight. I have two cabinets so I'm hoping to eventually have the second one going with clones in the close future.
Honestly, I'd hook up your ventilation and start adding bulbs... stop when it hits 80-85f. I'd use all those fans for exhaust and none for intakes, just open up enough passive vents, that will maximize your airflow allowing you to pack more bulbs in there and keep a negative pressure. I think you could get away with 6, maybe 8 26w if your airflow is good. I'd use a 6" fan blowing on your bulbs while they're on, that will keep them cool so you can get them closer to your plants without burning them and also circulate the air at canopy level. I'd use 4 6500k and 4 2700k for both veg and flower, if temps allow. Some people use different ratios like 75/25 instead of 50/50 but it's up to you to decide if it's worth the extra cash. I don't grow hydro so I can't help with that. Cheers!!
my advice is to follow not sure's advice. with the lighting and ventilation. personally i think aeroponics is just too complicated. bubble buckets are so easy a caveman could do it, and they have great results. and i'd double up on the air stones since you have a dual port air pump anyway. i'd use that frame you built for the aeroponic misters as a base for my CFL fixture. with the cab i'd paint the inside white and then just paint the outside of the window black. it's way cheaper than mylar and easier to put in there, just takes time to dry.
Hey i did the same exact DIY setup of an aero system only in a larger rubbermade tote. I had some screw's laying around with the same exact thread size as the heads, so i just drilled a hole the same size as the heads and then drilled the screw in (slowly or it will melt) to make the threads, and then screwed the heads in. I didn't even need a tapping bit. The guy at the store had no idea what i was talking about when i said tapping bit, he told me to glue it in. I even used the same exact PVC pipe as you. I also used PVC glue for the pipes, which i do NOT recommend if it runs well without. It takes like a month to get rid of the glue smell. I would raise that square higher, right below the net pot.
Hey dude. I have had the excavation same setup almost. Same size Except I used soil and my cabinet had double doors. I used 150watt hps as well as low kelvin florescent plant 24" plant lights as supplemental light. Produced 250g dry matter off two plants I'd say it was a win. Heat is a factor but not bad. Was at 80 degrees f then I added a small cheap fan to move the air around and it lowered the temp to 75.
OK, so here is a short update on the cabinet. I was having issues on what kind of lighting would be best for this setup. I had a second cabinet waiting to be built, so I decided to combined the cabinets to increase the to total space from 3ft^3 to 6 ft^3. Now I'm wondering what size HID would be just right. The dimensions in inches are 17.5 x35x53. I should be able to get pictures up in the morning.